12/10/2009
As Vietnam’s count of A/H1N1 ‘swine flu’ cases passes 10,000, VietNamNet Bridge takes a world-wide look at the pandemic as seen in statistics compiled by the European Center for Disease Control (ECDC).
With only about 10,000 cases and 23 deaths so far reported in a population of 86 million, Vietnam has been more fortunate than its neighbors.
Within the Southeast Asia region, reported mortalities have been higher in Thailand (23,900 cases/165 deaths), Malaysia (7000/77), the Philippines (5000+/28), and Hong Kong (29,600/29). Singapore has recorded 1200+ cases and 18 fatalities, Indonesia 1100 and 10. No statistics are given for Cambodia, but the flu is reported to have spread widely there as well.
Worldwide, health organizations have counted 474,000 A/H1N1 cases up to October 10, or only one case for every 13,000 people. Macau has the highest incidence of swine flu worldwide, 47 cases per 10,000 people, followed by Hong Kong (42) and Brunei (25).
Vietnam infection rate rose sharply since August
In Vietnam, swine flu was at first well-contained. Passengers on international flights who showed signs of infection were promptly quarantined. Thus it was not until early August, nearly five months after the first outbreak in North America, that Vietnam counted its thousandth case and first fatality from the virus.
With only about 10,000 cases and 23 deaths so far reported in a population of 86 million, Vietnam has been more fortunate than its neighbors.
Within the Southeast Asia region, reported mortalities have been higher in Thailand (23,900 cases/165 deaths), Malaysia (7000/77), the Philippines (5000+/28), and Hong Kong (29,600/29). Singapore has recorded 1200+ cases and 18 fatalities, Indonesia 1100 and 10. No statistics are given for Cambodia, but the flu is reported to have spread widely there as well.
Worldwide, health organizations have counted 474,000 A/H1N1 cases up to October 10, or only one case for every 13,000 people. Macau has the highest incidence of swine flu worldwide, 47 cases per 10,000 people, followed by Hong Kong (42) and Brunei (25).
Vietnam infection rate rose sharply since August
In Vietnam, swine flu was at first well-contained. Passengers on international flights who showed signs of infection were promptly quarantined. Thus it was not until early August, nearly five months after the first outbreak in North America, that Vietnam counted its thousandth case and first fatality from the virus.
The swine flu virus began to spread generally among the Vietnamese population in midsummer, particularly in the HCM City area, as students began to return from extended study tours abroad. Cases have now been recorded in fifty-nine of Vietnam’s sixty-three provinces and cities.
Temperate zone countries brace for winter upsurge
As the northern hemisphere heads into the winter months, the World Health Organization reports, transmission of flu virus and rates of flu-like illness are picking up markedly, especially in North America. The US, which has begun to innoculate at least half its population against the virus, has stopped counting H1N1 cases separately from ‘normal’ flu.
Curiously, China has counted only 22,830 cases (less than Hong Kong) and has only just reported its first death from the virus, a woman in Tibet. According to its official news agency, the nation of 1.3 billion people is bracing as the flu spreads from southern China into the rest of the nation, and testing a vaccine. Japan, like Vietnam, has reported 23 deaths, and South Korea 14. North Korea, however, claims still to be 100 percent swine flu-free.
VNNB
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